Sovietwarplanes

Hello Massimo, I hope you and all the Sovietwarplaners are all fine in these bleak times.
After two WW1 planes, I'm back to the red stars: I put again my hands on a La-5 (early model, razorback canopy) I started 11 years ago. I have some questions about the cockpit colors.Some information come from the color pictures of the fuselage wreck shown here:

https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/lagg3/cockpits/cockpitlagg3.html

While , if I don't get wrong, later La-5FN had uniform A-14 interiors, it appears that on the early models the wooden interior fuselage is painted silver and the steel back armor is A-14 grey. The aluminium parts, including the inner canopy frame, are some kind of emerald green.
Assuming that the silver walls and the grey armor are correct, how should I paint the other metal parts as seat, control stick, pedals, canopy frames? Could that emerald green be ALG-5 altered by age?
I painted the instrument panel very light grey (AE-9), as it seems from black/white pictures, what do you think?

Hi Otto,
nice to see your post again.
The aluminum part are emerald green, you say... could be, but it is still a mystery. This color doesn't appear in known wartime standards. On the other hand, if you look at photos of the instrument panels of the UTI-4 in Vantaa museum, you can see emerald green instrument panels. Is this the original color? Unfortunately I don't know. Such a color reminds of postwar MiGs. but I really don't know.
Another interesting thing is the use of turquoise blue in the inside of the I-16 Type 5 in the Chkalow museum. I am sure that this isn't the original one, but at the same time I can't exclude that it was used for repaints in war time. 
Again, traces of turquoise can be found on the wheel rim of the I-16 Type 28 in the Navy Museum of Leningrad, a point that doesn't seem repainted.
Light blue A-28m could have been used, maybe not in factory but for repaints on the field. It is an ambiguois paint that could look blue as AMT-7, but also lighter and greenish.
EP wrote of some industrial primer, but I don't remember Orlov writing on this. EP's description of ALG-5 is not reliable, ALG-5 should be a sort of greyish yellow-green. If he really saw light grey-blue-green somewhere, it could be A-28m.
I'm sorry to have been not clear, but fundamentally I don't know for sure.  If you make some research, please keep us informed on your results.
Regards
Massimo

By the way, I would be interested to see your WW1 planes. Have you posted their images somewhere?
Regards
Massimo

Thank you Massimo! My main research source is Sovietwarplanes, so I can't add much more...
"Markino" in his gorgeous LaGG-3 used silver for wood and A-14 for metal parts. Unfortunately, pictures of his post are no longer visible.
https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/board/index.php?topic=796.90 (https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/board/index.php?topic=796.90)
Assuming that the wood fuselage walls are silver and the back armor is A-14, seat and other metal parts remain to be defined. These are my possible assumptions:

1) A-14

2) AE-9. B/W pictures of LaGG-3 cockpit show light overall tone, (https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/lagg3/cockpits/cockpitlagg3.html (https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/lagg3/cockpits/cockpitlagg3.html)) so could be silver wood and AE-9 light gray metal, including canopy frame?

3) ALG-5 grey-green primer

4) Bright green as it appears on some seats (MiG-3, Tu-2...)

What would you use on your model?

This is the page on Wingnut Wings website including my last model: a diorama with the red winged Albatros D.V and the wounded Red Baron rescued by a stretcher team:
http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/9385700901C17C79205DA79C825C7DEE (http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/9385700901C17C79205DA79C825C7DEE)

This is my Facebook album with my models:
https://www.facebook.com/mauro.murta.16/media_set?set=a.110342849851619&type=3 (https://www.facebook.com/mauro.murta.16/media_set?set=a.110342849851619&type=3)

Hi Otto,
I would use A-14, unless there is any reason to do otherwise. I had a look to photos, and it seems that the inner face of the frames is dark enough.

I have not a Facebook account, so I can't see your models there.
What are your models on Wingnuts?

Regards
Massimo

Thank you Massimo, I will go with A-14.
These are the two WW1 models I made after the Pe-2:

Albatros D.III Oeffag, Eduard 1/48. An article of this model was published on Skymodel N. 109 of October-November 2019.
(https://i.postimg.cc/cCBfTzkt/190212-002-OEF-153-186.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/1tmZdnJC/190212-004-OEF-153-186.jpg)

Albatros D.V 1/32 Wingnut Wings with AC Models figures. I made a diorama attempting to riproduce the rescue of Manfred Von Richthofen when he was wounded by friendly fire on 6 July 1917.
(https://i.postimg.cc/CKxjhYMv/200216-028-Alb-DV-MVR.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/BZBQgFBK/200216-035-Alb-DV-MVR.jpg)

Hi Otto,
they are very beautiful models. The scene of Von Richthofen is impressively realistic, not only for the plane but for the crew and ground too.
Is there any work in process published anywhere?
Regards
Massimo

Thank you Massimo! The link to Wingnut Wings site shows pictures of the interior and engine, and of Manfred Von Richthofen during modification on the stretcher.
http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/9385700901C17C79205DA79C825C7DEE (http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/9385700901C17C79205DA79C825C7DEE)
The kit contained MVR standing figure, of which I made a resin copy and modified it to a lying and suffering posture. An article of this model will be published on Skymodel or Model Time in the future.

La-5 cockpit. I don't think there is everything, but it should be "busy" enough.
(https://i.postimg.cc/59PmCxr4/200408-004-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/vZyLRcgv/200408-011-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/dQX4fsjW/200408-012-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/htKyLCrg/200408-013-La5.jpg)

Hi Otto,
very nice work. What have you used to glue the windows?
Regards
Massimo

In this case I used the Tamiya green cap liquid glue because I needed a strong fit. I sanded and polished the windows and walls to reduce their thickness.
(https://i.postimg.cc/mZJGzML4/091112-001-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/fLkRZNKf/091112-003-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/k5mTkM7L/091113-001-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/132PsgvC/091113-003-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/BnGkgxwG/091113-004-La5.jpg)

If a strong fitting is not necessary, to avoid risk of damaging the clear parts you can use white glue or a clear multi-purpose glue like Bostik Max repair or similar.

I have a question: was the La-5 tail wheel steerable? I suppose yes, because taxiing would be difficult with a fixed wheel, but I want to be sure.

Hi Otto,
thank you for your answer. Please keep us informed on your building work.
About the tail wheel: I suppose yes, even the old I-16s had a steerable tail skid. In this case, steering had to be consistent with that of the rudder because they had a common control on pedals.
Regards
Massimo

Thank you, Massimo!

Hello,

Fantastic WW1 models and very nice start on this La-5  :)

Some updates. I used the Pavla vacuform canopy. It's not perfect, but it's much thinner than the original. I use to paint the inner frames first with the outside color (AMT-4 green) and then the inner color (A-14), so that when I paint the frames from outside, a slight misalignment of the masks shows the green and not the grey, mitigating the error effect.
(https://i.postimg.cc/65njzcLY/200411-007-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/bYWY1y31/200413-003-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/6pNvLLYV/200416-003-La5.jpg)

What's the color of the wheel wells? "Markino" in his LaGG-3 painted them with what seems to me the wooden inner surfaces silver, and I think it's correct, while the aluminium undercarriage doors should be A-14. Any suggestions?
https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/board/index.php?topic=796.345

Hi Otto,
I would go with the same light blue of undersurfaces. On Lavoockin's piston engined fighters. p.11, there is a photo of an airframe under static tests where the bays are well visible, and nothing seems to show that it was different from the outside. To leave it different, they should mask it when spraying the outside, but what for?
Besides, even if it could have been left in other colors in factory, it is always likely that it was repainted blue when retouching the plane on the field.
Regards
Massimo

Thank you Massimo! And the undercarriage doors inner sides, and the undercarriage legs? Blue or grey? On this LaGG-3 they seem light as the undersurfaces.
(https://i.postimg.cc/WphfGP4v/426iap-2.jpg)
In your 1/72 kit you painted them blue. Could you confirm this interpretation?
(https://i.postimg.cc/wjxYhGRY/Picture-002.jpg)
And the engine cooling shutters behind the black spinner? I would say A-14.

Hi Otto,
this is not my model.
Light blue is always possible, but I would go with A-14 or light grey. Photos seem to show both light and dark legs and doors.
Regards
Massimo

Finished!
(https://i.postimg.cc/J7PvQRXr/200426-003-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/dVpF0YFB/200426-017-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/1RjJ25rJ/200426-018-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/tJNPXkV3/200426-019-La5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/dVysr14X/200426-020-La5.jpg)

Phantastic!!!!!!! :D

Hi Otto,
Beautiful model indeed. The figure is excellent too. Have you published any complete build report?
Regards
Massimo

Thank you!
It will be published, as usual, on Sky Model or Model Time. On the next number of Sky Model there should be the article of my Richthofen's Albatros.

Excellent work !  :)

Wonderfully finished!  8)